Making the mood

A photographer’s main goal is to take a photo that makes the viewer feel a strong emotion towards it, whether it is love, hate, anger or passion. But when a photo is excellently taken, yet the colors, lighting, and texture, don't match up to the photoer's vision, a photo will become uninspiring. This tutorial will teach you how to take your photo to the next level and create an image that matches your vision.

Step 1

The fi rst step in changing a photo is doing the basics. You have to prepare your photo before you can move to the fun stuff. In this pickture, I got rid of any noticeable blemishes the model had, and g of noticeable hair that were going across her face to give more clear picture of the model. I did this using the Patch and Clone Stamp tool. When editing a model, make sure to always keep texture in the skin, it's more interesting that way as opposed to having a model's face which is completely airbrushed.

Step 2

The next step I took was darkening the whole photo. I knew that I wanted the photo to be much darker than it currently was. I could have just used the Curves tool or Levels, but I find that when overusing the Curves tool, a photo starts to look overly contrasted which I don't want. So instead I used a light gradient (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Gradient Map) and changed the Blending mode from Normal to Multiply. Doing this gives the photo a lot more depth, but doesn't darken it completely.

Step 3

As soon as I've got my basic photo ready, I knew that the yellowish tinge was not the effect I was going for, so I used both the Color Balance tool (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance), and the Selective Color tool (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance).

Step 4

The next thing I noticed was that my model's face was not highlighted enough, it was getting lost in the midst of forest and darkness, so I made two new layers. One layer was for the model's face and I simply used a soft Photoshop brush, with 0% Hardness, and drew over the model's face and the snake's body. I then changed both layers Blending Mode from Normal to Screen, and applied a Box blur (Filter>Blur>Box Blur) at 543 pixels, to both so they wouldn't be as noticeable. Remember, you just want hints of light, just enough so the model's face and the snake is highlighted.

Step 5

The fifth step is more or less a repeat of a step number three. I liked the way photo looked, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as it could be. So now I finally decided to use the Curves tool (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves) to darken and light certain areas, making sure again not to overdo it but to give it enough contrast to really bring out the picture. Next, I made two new Selective Color layers (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Selective Color). One Selective Colors layer changed the leaves and clothes but not the model's face to a more dark blue tint, while the second Selective Color layer brightened the snake's skin.

Step 6

The next thing I did was making another two layers. I still wanted to brighten only the snake's skin so for the fi rst layer, I changed the Blending mode from Normal to Soft Light, and then used a brush with 0% Hardness and carefully painted over the snake. It took a few variations before I found a color I liked. It's helpful to remember to also look at the whole picture. In the next layer I created, I simply wanted to add a little more color to the shrubbery in the background so I made another layer, and again changed the blending mode from Normal to Soft Light. I used a soft brush with 0% Hardness and a maroon, and yellow color just to add a little variation from my usual palette of blue. I then added it all along the bushes and used the Box Blur tool at 483 pixels, also changing the Blending mode from Normal to Screen, to make it less obvious.

Step 7

The final step I took to fi nish setting the mood for my photo was adding a texture and changing the Blending Mode from Normal to Soft Light. I found that the texture was to overpowering at 100% Opacity, so I lowered it to 77%. I next added my final layer and created a vignette around my photo by using a brush with a Hardness of 100%, and then brushed it around the outer edges of the photo, particularly around the four corners. I then applied a Box Blur (Filter>Blur>Box Blur) at 693 pixels, to the layer creating a nice dark blurred effect.

by Naomi Bensen